ITV

Tag: SES

  • SES appoints Vishal Mathur as senior sales director – Asia

    SES appoints Vishal Mathur as senior sales director – Asia

    MUMBAI: Satellite operator SES Asia has roped in Vishal Mathur as senior sales director. Mathur brings with him almost 20 years of experience in the satellite and broadcasting industry in the region.

    He will be tasked with implementing the company’s regional sales strategy to support the growth of the company’s fixed data, mobility and video customers, and developing strong customer relationships in the South Asian markets.

    Mathur has led the sales and marketing, business development, strategic planning and regulatory approval efforts of broadcasters such as ESPN Star Sports channel and Zee TV, as well as of satellite services provider MEASAT during his career.

     

  • Mariam Zamaray’s Insight into Ultra HD TV

    Mariam Zamaray’s Insight into Ultra HD TV

    Mumbai: At first glance, you would think she is a host of a television show or an on-screen talent. But don’t make that mistake when you meet up with the very attractive Television Entertainment Reality Network (TERN) CEO Mariam Zamaray who recently launched Insight at MipCom in Cannes. A factual entertainment, youth-targeted, cross media  ultra high definition channel (UHD or 4K TV), it is currently beaming over Europe, Russia, Australia and India.

    The lady knows her television for sure, having worked with Fox International Channels in Amsterdam for a couple of years as channel manager in the previous decade. She later founded Luxury Life a life style cross media format with which she was associated for eight years. And she also got into bed with WizCraft’s IIFA Awards which were held in Amsterdam in 2005 as its local partner.

    Around a year  or so ago, Mariam decided to launch Insight, a UHD or 4K channel, with the backing of General Satellite from Russia and other foreign investors.  To start with she build up a strong management team: Qunita Baars (formely of Fox International Channels), Marjolein Duermeijer (previously head of international sales and development, Tuvalu Media) and Natalie Boot (2waytraffic and Sony Pictures Television interactive manager).

    For production, she roped in leading studios and format owners such as Strix, Kiem, Zodiak Media, among others. For beaming the channel, she hired satellite operator SES Platform Services ( the bird it is beaming from is Astra at 19.2 degrees East), and for online and post-production she hired Dutch company, United4All.  

    “SES was challenged by our requirement of four feeds,” says Mariam.

    More challenges awaited her. There wasn’t adequate 4K content being produced at a frame rate of 50p, most of the productions were at 25p. Additionally, technicians understanding cameras (one shot well underwater, but was not so well indoors)  were few and far between. Online and post-production studios did not have the storage capacity or the processing and rendering power. All these meant costs, and costs.

    But she did not let these hurdles deter her. Her enthusiasm got SES executives coming back to her with a solution within three months. And United4All  decided to invest in post-production gear and storage in order to handle Insight’s high demands.  

    “The producers had no idea how to shoot in 50p 4K.  Most of the UHD shoots were being done at 25 fps. We did 200 days of research and had workshops with them,” she says. “They went out and shots. And when they came back with the product, it looked good and my team gave it the go ahead. If we liked it, we were sure the audience would also like it.”

    Programming includes original factual entertainment shows such as Spartan X (Strix), On The Run (Zodiak Media), Dracula (Strix), 7 Days (Kiem), and Power &… (Kiem). Shows already on air include Around the World in 80 Tricks, Diamond Geezers and Gold Dealers,

    For Europe, InsIght is free to air and is available both as a linear live TV service and as an app for non-linear on-demand content and can be viewed on multiple devices. “Viewers can engage and shape the programmes they watch and they are very interactive,” says Mariam.

     

    The company has partnered with joiz Global for this interactivity and big data and social management.

     

    Insight’s  grab and share interface which allows viewers to reduce the duration of the content they are currently tuned into as per the convenience is something Mariam is banking on. “Consumers can also button down their idea underneath the video and can also upload it on social media platforms. We want to showcase the current trends over technology and content and make it available for the young generation,” she says.

    The channel went live in Europe on 5 October at MipCom in Cannes; and on 8 October in India. It has a 200 hours of 4K programming, most of it original and produced with only 41 hours being acquired.   Mariam is looking to commission and have another 200 hours of 4K content ready by Q2 2016. Additionally, she has ambitiously expressed that she would like to produce a major sports event by October 2016.

    The channel claims It is reaching out to 60 million homes courtesy its partnership with DTH service TriColor (which is linked to General Satellite) in Russia and Information TV Network in India and SES.  In india she had a chat with iTV CEO Kartikeya Sharma, who was a college mate and a deal was struck.

    While it is free to air and commercial free  in Europe, it is being positioned as a pay TV service for India, Asia, Latin America.

     

    “We are not looking for immediate revenues. I am against inserting advertising breaks for the first nine months in Europe. We will however offer drop down menus to advertisers. But India will have a different feed which will have ad breaks,” she says.

    She is confident of revenues from India as it is a priority market for the business, along with Russia.

     

    “The Indian DTH operators are enthusiastic and prices for 4K sets are also coming down. We will be pushing both the 4K and HD feeds. Advertising too will play a role,” she says.

    Content syndication is one of the revenue streams which will keep providing cash flows to TERN. “We are looking for buyers from the US and Canada,” she expresses. “And we are licensing content to mobile operators too. We will be managing the talent which is on the channel as well as licensing the music and our original formats. That will keep our cash register ringing.”

     

  • Eutelsat & SES to develop technology for better broadcast-broadband ecosystem

    Eutelsat & SES to develop technology for better broadcast-broadband ecosystem

    MUMBAI: Satellite companies Eutelsat Communications and SES S.A, engaged in the global video distribution market, have launched a new, industry-wide initiative to develop and promote next-generation video technologies, standards and formats, focusing initially on the reception of satellite services on any screen and on converged broadcast-broadband technologies.

     

    Called the Future Video Initiative, this new project will assemble representative companies in the converged video value chain to ensure that users everywhere will be able to benefit from a consistent, high quality, state-of-the-art video experience anywhere, anytime and on any device.

     

    The Initiative was unveiled at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC), one of the largest broadcast technology conventions, held annually in Amsterdam.

     

    Experience and feedback on services currently delivering content anywhere, anytime, on any device highlight the challenges of ensuring in parallel high user satisfaction and the largest technical reach. Users want consistent media quality across multiple devices; content distributors have to cope with an ever-increasing growth of media traffic on their networks and therefore want to optimise their investments through maximum audience reach at the most competitive distribution cost.

     

    The Future Video Initiative will seek to support existing initiatives, alliances, associations, roadmaps and technical standardisation bodies. Its initial scope of work will focus on promoting integrated hybrid broadcast-broadband solutions that increase the reach of HD and Ultra HD with the highest quality, while optimising network costs and meeting the promise of interactive services. It will also facilitate the reception of satellite services on any screen, at home and in public places.

     

    “Through this initiative, we want to send a clear signal to the industry and public that we need to drive digitalisation and the evolution of our broadcast-broadband ecosystems. The Future Video Initiative is open to all stakeholders and is a catalyst for digital development. The start of this initiative is underpinned by the commitment of two leading satellite operators to bring the best of their infrastructures to support the innovations, roadmaps, standardisations and frameworks necessary to respond to the future needs of consumers and deliver on time on the inclusive promise of a top-quality media experience for the broadest range of users,” said Eutelsat Communications CEO Michel de Rosen and SES CEO Karim Michel Sabbagh.

  • SES entrusts Arianespace with SES-12 launch

    SES entrusts Arianespace with SES-12 launch

    MUMBAI: SES has selected Arianespace to launch the powerful new hybrid communications satellite, SES-12, on board an Ariane 5 booster from the European Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, during Q4 2017. This will be the 40th launch of an SES spacecraft on board an European Ariane launch vehicle.

     

    The new satellite will expand SES’s capabilities to provide direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting, VSAT, Mobility and High Throughput Satellite (HTS) data connectivity services in the fast growing Asia-Pacific region, including rapidly growing markets such as India and Indonesia.

     

    The spacecraft will be positioned at the well-established SES orbital slot of 95 degrees East, providing incremental as well as replacement capacity with excellent view angles across the Asia-Pacific region. SES-12 will replace SES’s existing NSS-6 satellite and will be co-located with SES-8. Today, SES serves close to 20 million DTH households in India and Indo-China from this orbital slot.

     

    SES-12 is being built by Airbus Defence and Space based on the highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform. The satellite is designed to operate for 15 years, with a payload comprising 68 high-power physical Ku-band transponders and eight physical Ka-band transponders. The spacecraft will be equipped with an electric plasma propulsion system for orbit raising and on-orbit manoeuvres.

     

    The payload of the hybrid SES-12 satellite consists of two distinct but complementary missions: first, traditional wide beam coverage, and second, a high-powered Ku-band multi spot beam payload (HTS).

     

    The traditional wide-beam mission consists of 54 (36 MHz equivalent) transponders that will provide state-of-the-art replacement and growth capacity for SES’s existing DTH, government and VSAT customers, allowing for a seamless transition from NSS-6 to SES-12. In addition, the design provides incremental growth capacity to support new DTH platforms and other services targeting the Asia-Pacific region.

     

    The second mission consists of 70 Ku-band spot beams and 11 Ka-band spot beams delivering over 14 GHz for VSAT, Enterprise, Mobility and Government applications. This mission also includes a Digital Transparent Processor (DTP), which provides anti-jamming capabilities as well as increased payload flexibility in order to provide customized bandwidth solutions to SES customers.

  • SES unveils new satellite operations center

    SES unveils new satellite operations center

    MUMBAI: Global satellite operator SES will now be controlling nearly half of its growing fleet from a new satellite operations center (SOC) at its commercial sales and satellite engineering office in Princeton, New Jersey.

     

    A team of satellite controllers provide 24/7 monitoring and management of the 23 SES satellites, as they deliver services ranging from high quality broadcast television channels to high-speed broadband to millions of people on land, in the air and at sea throughout North America and around the world.

     

    The remainder of the current SES global fleet of more than 50 spacecraft is managed by controllers stationed at SES’s global headquarters in Luxembourg. Both satellite operation centers are fully integrated, enabling each facility and control team to provide real-time services delivery and backup support across the SES fleet.

     

    “With a constant eye on operational excellence, resiliency and customer success and security, SES has positioned its three primary satellite operations centers in widely diverse regions of the world,” noted Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology Officer for SES. “Our new Princeton-based SOC features the latest control technologies and capabilities that will allow SES to meet ever-evolving customer demands and an ever-changing satellite fleet for decades to come,” Halliwell said. “Whether it’s electric propulsion satellites or an expanding fleet of more than 100 satellites, SES has the expertise and the advanced satellite control stations to deliver on the future.”

     

    “Princeton has long been an important hub for SES satellite engineering expertise and our customer account teams. These critical groups can now collaborate more closely with controllers located just down the hall, to further ensure optimal operations and customer success and satisfaction,” said Rick Starkovs, Senior Vice President of Space Systems and Operations for SES. “Customer success and team collaboration were major drivers behind the migration of this mission-critical satellite operations center to Princeton.”

  • SES to launch SES-12 for Asia

    SES to launch SES-12 for Asia

    MUMBAI: Satellite operator SES is looking at building a new hybrid communications satellite, SES-12. And for the same, the operator has selected Airbus Defence and Space. The new satellite, which is set for a launch in 2017, aims to serve the fast growing direct to home (DTH), data, mobility and government markets in Asia.

     

    The new satellite will expand SES’s capabilities to provide DTH broadcasting, VSAT, Mobility and High Throughput Satellite (HTS) data connectivity services in the Asia-Pacific region, including rapidly growing markets such as India and Indonesia.

     

    The spacecraft will be positioned at the well-established SES orbital slot of 95 degrees east, providing incremental as well as replacement capacity with excellent view angles across the Asia-Pacific region.

     

    SES-12 will replace SES’s existing NSS-6 satellite and will be co-located with SES-8.  The satellite operator currently serves close to 20 million DTH households in India and Indo-china from this orbital slot.

     

    The new satellite will be built by Airbus Defence and Space based on the highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform. The satellite is designed to operate for 15 years, with a payload consisting of 68 high-power physical Ku-band transponders and eight physical Ka-band transponders. The spacecraft will be equipped with an electric plasma propulsion system for orbit raising and on-orbit maneuvers. The payload of the hybrid SES-12 satellite consists of two distinct but complementary missions: first, traditional wide beam coverage, and second, a high-powered Ku-band multi spot beam payload (HTS).

     

    The traditional wide-beam mission consists of 54 (36 MHz equivalent) transponders that will provide state-of-the-art replacement and growth capacity for SES’s existing DTH, government and VSAT customers allowing for a seamless transition from NSS-6 to SES-12. In addition, the design provides incremental growth capacity to support new DTH platforms and other services targeting the Asia-Pacific region. The second mission consists of 70 Ku-band spot beams and 11 Ka-band spot beams delivering over 14 GHz for VSAT, Enterprise, Mobility and Government applications. This mission also includes a Digital Transparent Processor (DTP) which provides anti-jamming capabilities as well as increased payload flexibility in order to provide customised bandwidth solutions to SES customers.

     

    “I salute SES’s ambitions when it comes to innovation and responsiveness in a rapidly changing market, and we are pleased to be able to provide them with our very best technology for both the payload and the platform,” said Airbus Defence and Space head of space systems Francois Auque. He added, “We have been using electric propulsion for station-keeping for 10 years now and have equipped 10 Eurostar E3000 satellites with this technology, which we are now also offering for initial orbit raising. The resulting weight saving will enable us to combine two high-capacity missions equivalent to two conventional satellites in one satellite, SES-12.”

     

    SES-12 is the eleventh spacecraft that SES has ordered from Airbus Defence and Space, eight of these satellites are in operational service, one is ready to be launched and a tenth, ordered this year, is currently under construction. The satellite operator has decided that it will keep its annual spending to around Euro 450 million. It has also drawn up a five year plan, as part of which SES from 2014 to 2018 will spend a total of Euro 2.3 billion. It currently has four satellites under construction, including SES-12. Plans are also afoot to start more five satellite builds during this five year period. 

     

    SES chief technology officer Martin Halliwell said, “We look forward to working again with Airbus Defence and Space on this important addition to our global fleet. SES-12 will greatly expand our capacity over Asia and is fully in line with our capital expenditure plan. Through its unique hybrid DTH/HTS design, SES-12 will continue to support our growing DTH platforms and provide a new, lower cost HTS product, further enhancing our customer’s options for growth.” 

  • SES sees robust first half

    SES sees robust first half

    MUMBAI: SES S.A., a leading worldwide satellite operator (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), reports financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2014.

        
    • H1 Revenue of EUR 938.9 million (2013: EUR 910.5 million)

    – An increase of 6.3% over the prior year period at constant exchange rates (“constant FX”)1

     

    • H1 EBITDA of EUR 693.8 million (2013: EUR 662.0 million)

    – An increase of 7.4% at constant FX over the prior year

    – EBITDA margin of 73.9% (2013: 72.7% as reported)

     

    • Operating profit rose to EUR 437.5 million, an increase of 9.4% at constant FX

     

    • H1 Profit of the group increased 8.5% to EUR 290.9 million (2013: EUR 268.0 million)

     

    • Contract backlog of EUR 7.2 billion at end of June 2014

     

    • Closing Net Debt / EBITDA ratio of 2.85 (30 June 2013: 3.07) Karim Michel Sabbagh, President and CEO, commented:

     

    “SES’s continuing successful development  and execution of the 2014 plan has delivered robust first half results that validate our strategy to address target regions and market verticals. Video remains core to our business. Europe and the International segments posted strong growth, while the North American  segment  continued  to be affected  by the U.S. Government  budget  sequester.  The 2014 financial guidance is reiterated.

     

    Three satellites were brought into service in the period, further developing our capabilities in Europe, MENA and Asia-Pacific.  Four more satellites are under construction,  including the newly announced SES-12, a hybrid satellite for the Asia-Pacific region, which will benefit from the dual innovations of an HTS  payload  and  all-electric  propulsion.  These  programmes,  all components  of our  medium  term CapEx  plan,  will  enhance  our  differentiated  positioning  in  the  developing  markets  that  we  are targeting.

     

    On 10 July 2014, O3b Networks, the satellite company building ‘Fibre in the Sky’, in which SES has a significant  interest,  successfully  launched  its  second  group  of  four  satellites.    O3b’s  full  suite  of commercial services will be offered once in-orbit testing is completed.   We look forward to O3b’s successful commercialisation  of its product range with customers across the underserved markets of the world.”

     

    Click here to read the financial highlights

  • SES and EBU Broadcast 2014 FIFA World Cup in Ultra HD

    SES and EBU Broadcast 2014 FIFA World Cup in Ultra HD

    MUMBAI:  SES today announced that Eurovision – the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) distributor of premium sports and news events – is broadcasting the 2014 FIFA World Cup to audiences throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia in Ultra HD and HD via SES satellites.

     

    Eurovision is distributing matches live in Ultra HD to their global network using the NSS-806 satellite and SES’s teleport in Manassas. SES’s NSS-7 and SES-6 spacecraft are being used to enable Eurovision to deliver matches from the 12 World Cup venues throughout Brazil to the International Broadcast Center in Rio de Janeiro.

     

    “Eurovision and the EBU are gearing up for one of the largest broadcast operations requirements in the history of the World Cup, now including Ultra HD content. The live coverage of some matches in Ultra HD will allow consumers to catch a glimpse of the future of TV,” said Paolo Pusterla, Eurovision’s Head of Procurement.

     

    “Consumers today expect higher and better image quality when watching TV. We are proud to be able to continue working with Eurovision to fulfill the ever-changing demands of broadcasters with confidence, by providing hybrid solutions to deliver coverage of this spectacular sporting event to over 3 billion people around the world,” said Samantha McCloskey, Vice President of Global Occasional Use Services at SES.

     

    More on the SES 2014 FIFA World Cup coverage and SES Occasional Use Services under: http://www.ses.com/fifa-world-cup and www.ses.com/occasional-use

     

    SES is participating at CommunicAsia2014 (hall C, level 1) and CommunicAsia2014 Summit at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Singapore, from 17 – 20 June 2014. For more information on the booth, visit: http://www.ses.com/18836830/CommunicAsia2014

  • SES, SpeedCast and AsiaSat come together to help Typhoon Haiyan survivors

    SES, SpeedCast and AsiaSat come together to help Typhoon Haiyan survivors

    MUMBAI: SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), SpeedCast, a leading satellite telecommunications service provider in Asia-Pacific, and AsiaSat, a commercial operator of communication spacecraft, have donated satellite and service capacity to enable NetHope, a consortium of 41 non-governmental organisations around the globe, to re-establish communication links to survivors of Typhoon Haiyan that killed at least 6,069 people in that country alone earlier in November 2013.

    Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines was an exceptionally powerful tropical cyclone that devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is said to be the deadliest Philippine typhoon on record.

    By utilising the satellite capacity donated by SES and the uplink services and ground infrastructure provided by SpeedCast and AsiaSat, NetHope will be able to provide Typhoon Haiyan survivors access to information directly. The services and infrastructure will also support a number of other relief agencies and NGOs working in-country. 

    “Damage to critical telecommunications infrastructure has made disaster relief and rapid assessment of the situation difficult. Given that it may be weeks or months before terrestrial infrastructure is up and running, satellite connectivity is vital in providing immediate communication needs. SES is pleased to donate satellite capacity to support the people of the Philippines during their recovery from this terrible disaster,” said senior vice president, Commercial Americas at SES Elias Zaccack.

    SES is the world’s leading satellite operator with a fleet of 55 geostationary satellites. The company provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators and business and governmental organisations worldwide.

    “SpeedCast, SES and AsiaSat are providing vital aid directly to the areas that need it most with the help of NetHope. Since the Typhoon hit and we activated our response services, NetHope is now able to assist the relief efforts with communication services that can reach the most remote parts of the country,” said CEO of SpeedCast Pierre-Jean Beylier.

    “AsiaSat is pleased to take part in this initiative by offering uplink services from our Tai Po Earth Station. This effort in cooperation with our partners, will establish communication links needed to assist Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts in the Philippines,” remarked AsiaSat president and chief executive officer William Wade.

    The GVF’s Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Response Programs helped to facilitate this combined industry response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. For more information, please refer to the press release attached. If you would like to speak to an SES spokesperson, please let me know.

  • Ses: Continued Robust Performance

    Ses: Continued Robust Performance

    MUMBAI: SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) reports financial results for the nine months and three months ended 30 September 2013.
    Romain Bausch, President and CEO, commented:

    “SEShas delivered a robust performance in the year to date. We have increased our capacity and are commercialising new market opportunities. Forthcoming launches will further develop this capability and create the conditions for future growth. Our European business, which is almost entirely Video DTH, continues to grow (revenue +5.6%, when excluding analogue). New business and renewals with major customers, including Sky Deutschland and Arqiva, have contributed to an increase in the contract backlog to EUR 7.4 billion. In the International segment (revenue +12.5%) we have added a number of new DTH platforms, in Latin America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region. Although the launch schedule continues to be subject to some delays, total revenue growth (excluding analogue) was 5.7%, with considerable momentum from the video business.”

    “Despite some delays experienced earlier this year with regard to new satellite launches, we have significantly expanded our capacity with the launch of SES-6 in June and ASTRA 2E in September, and we now expect to launch SES-8 later this month, followed by ASTRA 5B in early December.”

    “SES’ 2013 revenue and EBITDA growth guidance at constant FX, of 3-4% and 2.5-3.5% respectively, and 5.5-6.5% excluding analogue, is reiterated.”

    “Our performance to date as well as our fleet development underscore SES’ commitment to growing its presence in the developed markets and to accelerate inroads in emerging markets. Our investments are focused on growth opportunities based on differentiated offerings and secured anchor customers in the video business. We are continuing to build DTH neighbourhoods.In the data business, the numerous contracts signed so far this year underscore the complementarity of SES’ geostationary satellite capacity with the High Throughput Satellite (HTS) capabilities of the O3b Networks Mid-Earth Orbit (MEO) constellation.”

    “SES is now entering a period in which capital expenditure will reduce significantly, even while additional growth investments are pursued. This, coupled with rising revenue and EBITDA, will deliver strong growth in free cash flow, which may be applied to further profitable investments and acquisitions and/or be returned to shareholders.”